In Short

A round-up of today's other stories in brief...

'Financial Times' owner focus of bid talk

Shares in Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, jumped more than 4 per cent yesterday to their highest price since mid-2002 in hefty volume amid speculation about a private-equity buyout for the world's largest educational publisher.

Speculation that private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) could launch a bid was fuelled by market rumours that The Business magazine would report a possible deal in its latest edition today. It said KKR has started preliminary work on a £7 billion (€10.7billion) buyout.

APN in online advert venture

APN, the media group in which Independent News & Media has a major stake, has formed a joint venture to develop an online classified advertising business. APN and ACP of New Zealand will together develop the sellmefree.co.nz website, which offers free classified advertisements.

Equity SSIAs ahead by 12.7%

A rebound in financial markets helped equity SSIAs outperform deposit fixed accounts by double figures in the final quarter of the year, according to Bank of Ireland Life. Equity SSIAs were 12.7 per cent ahead of their deposit equivalents in December, while they outperformed deposit SSIAs by 10 per cent in November and 10.7 per cent in October.

Inflation stable in euro zone

The rate of inflation remained stable across the euro zone in December, but it has been predicted that figures due out today will show a sharp increase in inflation here. Data released yesterday by Eurostat showed annual inflation across the EU at 1.9 per cent in December, the same rate as November and below the 2.2 per cent annual rate in December 2005.

Tax body calls for simpler system

The Irish Taxation Institute (ITI) has called for the simplification of the existing tax system to tackle the issue of unclaimed reliefs. The ITI proposed the establishment of an independent tax advocate to protect taxpayers' rights. In addition, a PAYE customer satisfaction unit should be set up within the Revenue.

Vislink reports 17.5% rise in sales

Vislink, the UK-based electronics group that is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, reported a 17.5 per cent increase in sales last year and said it expected adjusted operating profit for the year to be not less than £13.5 million (€20.6 million), 61 per cent ahead of 2005.

Dragon Oil releases trading update

Dragon Oil, which is focused on the Celeken Contract Area offshore Turkmenistan, released a trading update ahead of its full-year results due in March, saying it produced an average of 20,514 barrels of oil a day last year, a 6 per cent increase over 2005.

Vaalco begins oil production

US energy group Vaalco has commenced oil production from the first of two wells in the Avouma field offshore Gabon, in which Tullow has a 7 per cent stake. Flow tests from the first well produced 5,500 barrels of oil per day (bpd), implying it is on course to meet its goal of 10,000 bpd.

Barclays picked for €200m bond sale

Irish Life Assurance has named Barclays Capital as the sole lead manager for the sale of €200 million worth of hybrid bonds, expected to be used to restructure its capital base.